Pine Bush plans to dip into savings to ease tax crunch

Tuesday

Mar 5, 2013 at 2:00 AM

PINE BUSH — Do you spend your money on something you need now, or save it for that rainy day? That's the question many school districts are confronting because of declining state aid and the state's 2 percent tax-levy cap.

BY STEVE ISRAEL

PINE BUSH — Do you spend your money on something you need now, or save it for that rainy day? That's the question many school districts are confronting because of declining state aid and the state's 2 percent tax-levy cap.

Officials in one of the region's largest districts — Pine Bush — opted to spend millions of its savings now. Thus, it will keep the proposed tax increase for its tentative $102.6 million, 2013-14 budget within that permissible tax cap range — at 2.99 percent — and will "only" cut a handful of teachers through attrition and retirement. Summer school for elementary students could be eliminated, as will after-school instruction for middle school. The public will vote on the budget May 21.

But to do that — and ensure the tax increase for the following year stays in the 2 percent range — the district will end up with only about $1 million in its rainy day savings, or fund balance, for the 2014-2015 school year.

The reason, says the superintendent of this district, with seven schools and 5,600 students, is simple:

So for its 2013-2014 budget, Pine Bush will use about $2.9 million of its $8.8 million savings, or fund balance.

But as anyone planning their future finances knows, if you don't have the money to pay for something now, you won't have it later.

So to stay within that tax cap in 2014-15, Pine Bush will use about $5 million of its savings, which will leave it with only about $1 million in its rainy day fund.

"It's a balancing act," says Steinberg. "Are you going to further decimate the program, or do you use some of that money? You don't want just reading and writing. You want to have music. You want to have art. You want to have sports."